, Columnist
Japan’s New PM Has Barely the Concept of a Plan
The shock choice for prime minister represents a remarkable change. Is it a step in the right direction?
Safe choice.
Photographer: Toru Hanai/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When Shigeru Ishiba becomes the 65th Japanese prime minister1 on Tuesday, it will represent a remarkable break with the recent past.
All of the candidates to replace Fumio Kishida were flawed. But given public discontent with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the publicly popular Ishiba — a fierce critic of the late Shinzo Abe, whose faction was most implicated in recent scandals over funding and influence — was the safest choice. Faced with the option of a successor to Abe or his polar opposite, the party has broken with over a decade of orthodoxy.